Do I need a contract? (direct to client)

[XLMonkey]

I once made the mistake, several years ago, of having no written contract for a two month project for a client I didn't know very well. Following the usual level of scope creep, things ended with the client's solicitor sending over nasty letters.

same here. Most of my work is direct with the client, and I had one last year who was late paying for a short piece of work. I finally got paid two weeks ago on an invoice that was issued in May 06, and only after legal action was threatened.

I think that if the client is prepared to go along without a contract, then there's a reasonable probability that they're also going to be a bit flaky when it comes to paying.

[lawspeed]

You can invoice for ad-hoc stuff on an invoice and some well written terms and conditions like most suppliers would.

PS. It doesn't have to be just a choice between a full multi-page service contract and a casual verbal agreement.

Absolutely right. We provide two different forms of direct agreement for use by contractors - one is set up as simple standard terms that fit on one page (albeit in a small font-size!) and the second is a more comprehensive 8-10-page affair that obviously goes into more detail and is also designed for agreement by signature.